From cuneiform to computer keystrokes. Thus when digital technologies of reading and writing arose, soon thereafter people became intensely reflective about what had preceded them: books, paper, pens ...

On the surface, it's just a form. Nothing extraordinary â just name, address, date. But as the 25-year-old sits down, and the pen touches paper, their wrist stiffens. A dull ache creeps up the thumb, ...